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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Montana Brewery Tours is hosting its 2nd annual Whitewater Beer Tasting this Saturday on the Alberton Gorge. Complete with Class III whitewater fun, transportation, and appetizers paired with Draught Works beers, it's sure the be a wild and wet time.

The event is $99 per person and already nearly sold out. Meeting time is noon, and the return is scheduled for 7 p.m. Book at MTBREWTOURS.COM or by calling 406.544.6864.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

July 18-20, 2015 | Asheville NC | Zephyr Adventures just wrapped up its 2015 Beer Bloggers Conference in the comforting Appalachian hills of western North Carolina and home to Beer City USA. If you haven't been, Asheville is certainly a beer-loving destination that likely impressed most of the sold-out beer blogging conference. Self included. With 22 breweries in the city, 42 in western North Carolina, and 250 independent restaurants (via ExploreAsheville.com).

Of the many highlights was the opportunity to meet and converse with leaders in the craft beer industry. I met the head brewer for Oskar Blues NC, Ken Grossman and son of Sierra Nevada Brewing, New Belgium's CEO Kim Jordan, and Dick Cantwell, formerly of Elysian Brewing Co. Mr. Cantwell told me, "it was a very tough year," as we chatted about the buyout. And then we joked about the fact that Budweiser had just presented at the conference, and he said, "You mean they fussed over their own beer!?"

There were many great takeaways from the conference, for which you can find the agenda here, but from my notes I leave you this synopsis.

Why do people choose craft beer? The top two reasons are flavor and freshness, with 47% choosing it for the alcohol. And what about those date codes on the bottles and packaging? Just over 1/3 of beer drinkers rely on those codes to determine their purchase.

Are we there yet? Last year over 600 breweries opened and only 46 closed. Currently, 1.5 breweries open every day in the U.S. (Note: The Missoula Brewing Company just opened this week in Montana, as did White Dog Brewing in Bozeman!) The next time someone asks if we have enough breweries in town, I'll respond, "Do we have enough restaurants?" As long as each brewery is differentiating itself and striving to make a word-class product, there's plenty of room in the pool.

You talking about jobs? The brewing industry alone is responsible for 115,000 jobs in the U.S.

The first side trip during the conference was to the Oskar Blues Brewing facility in Brevard, NC. This facility opened in 2012, mashes in every 2 1/2 hours, and can can 300 beers a minute.

Next we toured the "Disney World" of craft beer, Sierra Nevada's new NC brewery, a state-of-the-art craft brewery that prides itself on its sustainability practices as much as its great beer. We were the first in the US to try Sierra Nevada's Oktoberfest collaboration Brauhaus
Riegele and its brewmaster from Augsburg, Germany.

The rest of the conference was filled with information that will ultimately make this blog better, along with the many of the other 1,000 citizen beer blogs in the U.S.

But there was also beer, and plenty of it. I had some great ones, and some bad ones. I'd like to call out a couple of my favorites, a beet beer from Innovation Brewing (yes, the one being sued by Bell's Brewing), and everything from Burial Brewing Co. (interestingly, one of their owners is a lawyer representing Innovation Brewing in the lawsuit).

I also tried many great beers during the Night of Many Bottles, an enormous bottle share where the 150 bloggers brought their hometown favorites. I brought a couple Crowler from Kettlehouse Brewing Co. (thanks Zeb and Ryan), as well as Bitter Root Brewing, Lewis and Clark, and The Front.

Next year the conference will take place in Tampa, Florida (near Cigar City Brewing). Please contact me if you'd like your Montana beer brought down and shared.

In closing, I am giving a "heads up" to my readers that I plan to broaden the reach of this blog, tackle things that stretch beyond Montana on occasion, give even more space to the great things Montana beer is doing, and go "off topic" on some things a bit more personal. I hope you stick with me for it all!

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

I admit it, I just didn't know. I wrote a book about beer, and have printed and sold thousands of copies of the Montana Brewery Passport, but out in Superior, Montana, there has been a nano-brewery in operation since summer 2014, and I just didn't know until last week.

Dunluce Brewing ("done loose") is owned and operated by Adam Hauge, who lives in Liberty Lake, Washington, but travels over at least once a week to brew on his 1/2 barrel brew system, which is currently only sold at the Four Aces Bar in Superior.

"My wife's family is from the area, so it's nice to be connected to the area," says Hauge. The brewery's motto is: Family, Farm, Fermented.

It was during a trip to Ireland and Italy in 2012 that the couple, Lauren and Adam, first thought about combining family farming and brewing. Adam's family farm grows barley in central Montana, and Lauren's family farm in Superior has hops and spices.

In addition to selling its beers through Four Aces Bar, Dunluce Brewing is available for special order kegs for weddings. Just this week Dunluce Brewing began offering branded growlers and growler fills through Four Aces, and the bar will also serve as the official Montana Brewery Passport stamping location since the brewery does not operate a tasting room.

Hauge brews six different core beers, plus some seasonals. Here are the mainstays:

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Today and tomorrow marks the first Kalispell Beer and Wine Open, part brewfest/winefest and part homebrew competition. Over 30 breweries, wineries, and distilleries will set up at the Kalispell Fairgrounds, starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday. (Full list of participants here)

From the website:

This festival will become a beacon for all those eager young
brewers, wine makers as well as industry professionals to look forward to every
year for the opportunity to display what they know, have learned and can teach
to others. We are confident that the Kalispell Beer and Wine Open will
continue to gain both recognition and momentum each and every year with
community support.

The dinner will include seven courses from the soon-to-be-released Top Hat
Spring Menu paired with beers from the three Breweries and live music by Dan Dubuque.

As part of the dinner, Erin Crobar, Top Hat Chef and the brewers will explain
the beer, the food and the thoughts behind the pairing.

The seven-course dinner, seven beer tastings and the music will be a ticketed
event with a ticket price of $40 per person. The dinner is intended to be a
social event, with tables of 10 where attendees will enjoy dinner “family
style” with other Missoulians.

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Disclaimer

At times we receive free beer, tickets, dinners, etc. We always appreciate these gestures. While we do very little beer reviews, sending or providing free samples will not guarantee a review (or a favorable review). If we do review an event or product, we will note how it was acquired. Mostly we only promote events. We do not receive compensation for everything we post, and we never accept cash for a post. If you would like to advertise with us, however, please contact us.